Suicide prevention program may expand

The power of our student’s opinions was brought to light lately with the success of TEXT4Life.

Our students went through the trauma of having a student and community member commit suicide two years ago and wanted to do something positive to help in some way. They formed a LIFE group whose focus is to educate people about mental health issues and encourage people to get help if they are suffering from depression or suicidal thoughts. It was a very successful group that got the attention of Carlton County Human Services and Human Development Center.

The county came down to talk with the LIFE group about a problem that they were struggling with and wanted input from our students. Their issue was that the suicide hotline was not as effective as it had been in the past. Students were not calling in to the hotline. Our students told the county that kids their age don’t call anymore, they text. This sparked the TEXT4Life initiative where people can text that they are struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide.

The county received a 20 million dollar grant to initiate texting as an option for the suicide hotline. This program has had great success and they are now receiving texts from around the country. They are looking at expanding our model because of the success.

From the energy of a group of Moose Lake students came an idea that hopefully has saved lives.

Congratulation to the Rebel football team for their performance in the state tournament at the Dome.

For us, Rebel PRIDE stands for: Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Discipline, and Excellence. Our students exhibited each of these traits to get to the position they were in. What an exciting game to watch.